The popularity of social networking via online networking sites is ever increasing. One way that people use social networking sites is to share information such as recommendations, pictures, videos, notes, discussions, and so forth on profile pages.
Sometimes, a user may come across an object (person, group, or thing) on a social networking page that they like and would like to express interest in. Using a traditional approach, the user may establish a mutual friend relationship with the object to add the object to the user's social network and then provide input to become a fan of the object. By establishing the mutual friend relationship with the object, the user enables reciprocal access to the user's social network information, such as posted pictures and profile information. This may be alright with the user if the owner of the object is a close friend of the user's. However, in some instances the user may just want to be a fan of a public object (e.g., a rock band, author, book, business) without becoming friends with the object or a corresponding owner. As such, privacy concerns with the traditional approach may inhibit users from becoming fans of public objects.